A feature documentary about the
hopes, rebellions, and repression of the 1960s as told by members of Students for a
Democratic Society (SDS).

110
minutes

"It isn't the rebels
who
cause the troubles of the world,
it's the troubles
that cause the rebels."-- Carl Oglesby, SDS

Rebels with a Cause chronicles the movements for social change of
the Sixties that began with the civil rights movement and culminated with the
angry protests against the US war in Vietnam.Told
through the eyes of SDS members, the film is about far more than SDS.It’s about the values, motivations, and actions of a generation that
lost its innocence but gained a sense of power and purpose.It’s about a decade that changed America.

Students
for a Democratic Society, the largest and most influential student organization
of the ‘60s, was a uniquely American movement that grew and evolved in
response to the times.At its peak
in 1968, SDS had over 100,000 members and 400 chapters — but in 1960 there
were just a few dozen members, inspired by the civil rights movement and
initially concerned with equality, economic justice, peace, and participatory
democracy. Then came the war in Vietnam, and SDS grew rapidly as young people
protested the destruction being wrought by the US government and military.Although most activity focused on the war, SDS members were also involved
in organizing in local communities around economic and social issues, were early
activists in the women’s movement, and helped start many of the
‘counter-institutions’ that flourished in that period and since. As
the war continued to escalate, polite protest turned into stronger and more
determined resistance — and rage and frustration increased all across the
country.At the same time, the
government, led by the FBI, mounted a concerted effort to destroy SDS and the
antiwar, civil rights, and women’s movements. SDS died in 1970, but the
movement — and the spirit of SDS — lived on.